Sunday, January 21, 2007

Sex Offender Awareness

A conversation with Liz yesterday reminded me that I haven't been spending near enough time highlighting the seemingly ever-growing epidemic of child predators --a genre of crime that is absolutely unforgivable in my eyes, but one in which the perpetrator gets much more consideration/"rights" than his/her victims... I think I will use Sundays to elucidate the problem...

Can Convicted Sex Offenders Get Custody?!:

There is a story out of Little Rock, Arkansas about their House unanimously approving a proposal that would prohibit sex offenders from being awarded custody and/or visitation rights.

"...The proposal, by Rep. Dawn Creekmore, D-East End, says there is a "rebuttable presumption" that it is not in the best interest of a child to be placed with a sex offender. The House voted 98-0 in favor of the measure.

"This will give the court the discretion to see if that sex offender is a harm to that child," Creekmore told reporters after the vote. "There are sex offenders who are not a danger to their children, but this will give the court a tool to use to make that determination."

Little Rock criminal defense lawyer Jeff Rosenzweig said he didn't think the bill would have too great of an impact because judges already have the discretion to decide whether a sex offender is a danger to a child in custody proceedings.

"I think to some extent it's an unfortunate incursion on the discretion of the courts," Rosenzweig said." (source)

This got me thinking...do pedophiles currently retain custody in some states? I would have thought NOT being around children was a forgone conclusion, but it seems that isn't always the case. I have to find a way to look into state-by-state laws regarding this matter.

Child Predator With Previous Offences Gets Deal With NO Jail Time:

Remember this case? The guy in Vermont that got a deal by the prosecutor for probation because the State was worried about the disabled accuser having to testify? Well, I guess this is another of those INANE instances where "prior bad acts" can't be admitted...(Why is that EVER the case when it comes to crimes against children?!):

"...Andrew C. James of Manchester, who has attracted national attention because his sentence for sexually assaulting a now-5-year-old boy allows him to avoid jail, has two previous convictions for violent crimes that in some way involved children.

A woman James was convicted of assaulting in 2000 told police that during the attack James threatened to kill both her and a 1-year-old child she was holding.

And in 2003, James was convicted of using a screwdriver to assault a different woman who was a passenger in his car. Two very young children were in the back seat, one of them the child James had threatened to kill three years earlier and the other the now-5-year-old boy James recently admitted sexually assaulting. Neither child was reported injured.

James, 37, was convicted of domestic assault following both incidents, and served 30 days in prison of a two- to four-year prison sentence in connection with the 2003 assault. Both female victims told police James had been prescribed medication for mental illness and that when he didn't take the medicine he became violent. They said they were afraid he could kill them, according to Vermont State Police..." (source)

But hey, at least this guy's civil rights weren't violated...because, ya know, that's the most important thing here.

Sex Offender Registers for School as a 12 year Old Boy:

This may just be one of the most insane stories I've read in a long time... Two men were living (and having sexual relations) with what they thought was a 12 year old boy -and they attempted to register him in school as such. He was actually 29 year old convicted sex offender Neil Havens Rodreick II.

"...This is the weirdest case I've seen in 18 years," sheriff's spokeswoman Susan Quayle said. "If it wasn't so sad it would be funny."

A total of four men were in custody in the case Friday on various charges, including fraud, forgery, identity theft, and failure to register as a sex offender.

Officials at the charter school in Chino Valley, about 90 miles northwest of Phoenix, told deputies that papers the "grandfather" presented appeared to be fake and that "boy" looked much older than 12. Stiffler and Robert James Snow, 43, "were very upset when the detectives told them they had been having a sexual relationship with a 29-year-old man and not a pre-teen boy," Quayle said.

Detectives have evidence that Stiffler and Snow enrolled Rodreick in other Arizona schools, and have notified law enforcement in those jurisdictions, Quayle said. It was unclear whether Rodreick had actually attended any schools, but Quayle said, "I think what we're looking at is that he's being used to troll for other kids." (source)

Laws Prohibit You From Knowing if There's a Sex Offender in Your Child's School:

...regardless of the severity of the offences if that offender is a minor.

"...Parents at Nisqually Middle School were angry to learn that a 13-year-old level 2 sex offender was attending school with their children and had been recently re-arrested from more crimes.

According to prosecutors, the 13-year-old boy allegedly molested three young girls at his Lacey home. When the teen moved into the neighborhood authorities did notify neighbors that he was a sex offender, neighbors told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

Officials at the North Thurston school district told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News the school principal and other employees were notified the teen was attending classes but state law prevents them from alerting parents." (source)

Would 3 1/2 years Be Enough If It Were Your Boy?!:

"...A Saskatchewan judge has sentenced a Prince Albert man convicted of a number of sex offences involving young teenage boys to serve 3½ years in prison.

Following a trial last year, Justice Grant Currie convicted James Michael Bomek, 57, of sexual assault, possession of child pornography and other offences.

The charges stemmed from a series of sexual relationships Bomek had in 2004 and 2005 with teenage boys as young as thirteen.

Bomek, a disbarred lawyer from Flin Flon, Man., who had once practiced law in that city and in several communities in Saskatchewan, was sentenced in Prince Albert on Friday morning.

Crown prosecutor Peter Hryhorchuk wanted five years, but said he was satisfied with the sentence." (source)

You may have noticed a new link button in the sidebar (under the Grotto) -Use this link often to check sex offenders in your area. Stay aware and proactive, even if you don't have kids. Family Watchdog is the best website of its nature to date: